[1] Originally the SS Stag Hound was laid down on 28 November 1938 at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. under a United States Maritime Commission (MC) contract (MC hull 27, Yard hull 374); launched on 21 June 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Martha Macy Hill; and delivered to the on 4 December 1939.

Power was furnished by two Babcock & Wilcox boilers driving a Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. trubine through a Westinghouse double reduction gear set.

Following her maiden mission for the Navy, Aldebaran remained at San Francisco until 29 March when she put to sea with a cargo bound for Hawaii.

Upon her arrival back on the west coast, she entered a civilian drydock at Oakland, California, to begin conversion to a fleet provisioning ship.

The ship discharged cargo at Pearl Harbor during the last six days of November and, after an overnight stop at Maui, headed back to the west coast on 1 December.

She stood out of San Francisco on 23 June, stopped at Pearl Harbor early in July, and then spent the remainder of the summer of 1942 making calls at ports on the South Pacific circuit.

Aldebaran loaded cargo at San Francisco and then embarked upon long, circuitous voyages that took her back to New Caledonia, Samoa, and Espiritu Santo.

[1] In May 1944 the USS Aldebaran was diverted to Hawaii during the run back to the west coast from Espiritu Santo to load cargo bound for the Central Pacific.

[1] On 29 March 1945, Aldebaran arrived in San Francisco to complete the last of her resupply missions to ships in the anchorages in the Central Pacific atolls.

The stores ship spent about five weeks at sea replenishing the warships engaged in the Okinawa campaign before putting in at Guam on 13 June to reload.

For the remaining two months of hostilities, Aldebaran provided logistics support for the carrier task groups making air strikes on the Japanese home islands, returning periodically to either Guam or Ulithi to restock her larder.

She arrived in Seattle, Washington, on 31 January and entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard a week later for a two-month repair period.

Aldebaran's at-sea replenishment capabilities helped those ships maintain a constant vigil thereby contributing to the successful conclusion of the matter.

Four months later, on 29 October, Aldebaran was transferred to the Maritime Administration to be berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at James River, Virginia.

Aldebaran's name was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1973, and she was sold on 14 November 1974 to Andy International, Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping.

[1] The USS Aldebaran was featured as a ship in the Japanese yuri manga Kurogane Pukapuka-tai, which is about an all-female crew of IJN sailors during World War 2.